The Wandering Scot

An occasional travel journal.

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Rangoon: A Diamond-Tipped Pagoda

December 13, 2017

Greetings from Myanmar, land of giant golden stupas.

I came in overland from Thailand through Mawlamyine, where there is an ancient stupa visited by Kipling and referenced in his poem Mandalay:  “By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ eastward to the sea …”

Neither the temple nor Mawlamyine/Moulmein seem to have changed much since Kipling’s day.

Here in Yangon (Rangoon), I visited the giant Shwedagon Paya complex, which has a 326 ft tall central golden stupa. It sits atop a hill, looking like a great golden mountain from afar, aglow in the early morning sun. It is truly a wonder to behold! Stupendous!

According to the temple authorities, backed up by photos, the very topmost tip of the Shwedagon Paya stupa has various golden ornaments and gems, topped by a 76 carat diamond. If I put a gem like that so high up, I’d be very nervous of magpies…

Tomorrow I’m off on the road to Mandalay and then to Bagan, for many more stupas!

A Bridge on the River Kwai

December 8, 2017

A quick “Hi” from a Bridge on the River Kwai. Yes, there really is such a place and it is a (mostly) authentic relic of the Death Railway.

The book/movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” was satirical fiction and the wooden bridge they showed never actually existed. But a steel bridge was built in roughly the right area as part of the Death Railway and after the success of the movie the ever-helpful Thai authorities applied their creative geography skills to stretch the definition of the River Kwai a little to cover it.  The central section was destroyed by allied bombing but repaired after the war, otherwise it’s the original forced labor bridge.

 

For a small fee I was able to ride a train across the bridge and along a section of the Death Railway.  It was a scenic but slightly spooky trip.

Carcassonne: Medieval Walls

September 19, 2017

I’m enjoying the historic medieval French city of Carcassonne.  It is perfectly formed, with magnificent double curtain walls, a grand fortress, tall round towers with spiky roofs, portcullis gates, the works.  It is very cool!

Note that this is not like one of those recent Chinese “restorations” of Ancient City Walls.  Mais non!  This is an authentic 19th c French restoration!  By an eminent architect who had a very clear vision of what a medieval walled city ought to look like and spared no expense to implement it!

Alas, some pettifogging historians objected to some of the details, and so in the 1960s some of the towers got re-restored with more plausible battlements and flattish tile roofs.  But most of that wonderful 19th c. vision is still intact.

Kidding aside, the bases of the walls and most of the castle made it into the 19th c, so the restorative creativity was mostly around the battlements and the roofs.  The core structure is real.  And it is seriously impressive!

The Restored Castle
The 1960’s Re-Restoration

Idaho: The Black Sun

August 21, 2017

The Black Sun

I was in Idaho Falls for the 2017 US Total Eclipse.  The local authorities had been unsure what to expect: hotels had sold out far in advance and there were fears of a vast insurge of eclipse watchers up Interstate 15 from Salt Lake City.  So Starbucks and the local police had all hands on duty.

I had paid a premium price for a hotel room within totality, but  I strolled a couple of miles further away from the Interstate to a quiet park in order to have a relaxed view of the great event.  Like others, I was struck by the abrupt change from the almost-normal daylight provided by a tiny sliver of visible sun, to sudden dusk-like totality.  And the sight of the Black Sun in the sky was extremely cool.

As predicted, totality was accompanied by loud noise from the local wildlife, in this case in the shape of much loud “Yay”ing from young primates. 🙂   But contrary to the fears of the local authorities, there were no giant traffic jams, cell phone outages, or mass cannibalism. Alas.

The Eclipse Watching Hordes

Kosovo: Bill Klinton

May 19, 2017

I’m in Prishtina, Kosovo, on “Bill Klinton Boulevard” admiring the Bill Clinton Statue. A few feet away is the “Hillary” dress store, which proudly displays photographs of a visit by Hillary herself in 2010.

Why are the Kosovars so fond of the Clintons?  The answer is on the document in Bill’s hand, dated 24 March 1999, which is when NATO, led by the USA, launched air-strikes to protect the Kosovars from a wave of ethnic cleansing launched by the Serbs.  A nation-saving intervention for which the Kosovars remain grateful.

Temple of Poseidon

May 7, 2017

I’m at Cape Sounion, near Athens, visiting the Temple of Poseidon. In ancient times its splendid white marble columns were visible from far at sea and it was a very welcome landmark for sailors returning to Athens. The surviving columns and base are still an impressive sight.

 

Poseidon has been kind to California recently, blessing us with some delightful rain this last winter. I wanted to show my appreciation to the god, so I had brought a small offering to the temple, a box of baklava.

I ceremoniously thanked the god for his kindness and then offered up the baklava. Following tradition, after the god had had a moment to consume the essence of the offering, I then disposed of the physical remains. It was delicious.

The site guard seemed mildly puzzled by all this, but wisely decided to let it be.

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